Refuse to Sink
by Submerged-Mermaid
Summary: One day, Eren received a grim reminder of what fighting Kaijus could really do. A former dealer in Kaiju parts, Levi accepts Marshal Erwin's offer to help with what's left of the Jaeger program. OCs Vanith and Anya team up with the remaining Jaeger pilots for humanity's last stand against the breach. Levi/OC, among other pairings. Rated M for coarse language and violence.
1. The COLOSSAL Kaiju

Chapter 1: The COLOSSAL Kaiju

* * *

"Hey Eren, get up."

Eren groaned, turning in his bunk away from the voice, "No…"

"Yes. Get up."

When there was no response, Mikasa sighed and rolled her eyes. Approaching her friend's bunker, she pulled off the comforter. "Get up, we have work to do."

"Ugh, fine." Eren huffed, groaning as he sat up in the bunk.

Mikasa turned and went to finish putting her gear on, her black hair catching the light from their flashing computer.

"Mikasa?" Eren rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "What's going on?"

"Movement in the breach." Mikasa supplied, buckling a belt on her uniform.

Eren sighed, turning towards her so his feet could dangle off the bunk. "What category?"

"Two."

"And what time is it?"

"Also two."

"Ugh…" Eren sighed, ruffling up his hair as he jumped down from his bunk, "I hate it when you're this serious so early."

"You were the one that convinced me to join you for this crazy job." Mikasa replied matter-of-factly without a blink of an eye, pulling on her brown leather jacket.

"Yeah, I guess I did." Eren replied, stretching his arms before getting up. "But you were the best option, let's face it."

Mikasa didn't let him see the small smile on her face.

* * *

"This one's larger than the ones we're used to. Even for a category two." Mikasa explained as both of them set off for the hangar, "Codenamed, COLOSSAL."

"Great, even better." Eren replied sarcastically, tugging closer his jacket.

From behind the walking pair, "GIPSY DANGER" stood out in black on their brown leather jackets, right over an image of two swords crossed under the hilt.

Upon entering the hangar, they were ushered into a room to suit up in their pilot uniforms. Even for two-thirty in the morning, the Anchorage hangar was bustling with busy activity. Engineers worked on putting the finishing touches on GIPSY DANGER, while technicians fitted both Mikasa and Eren with their state-of-the-art Jaeger tech pilot uniforms.

Mikasa saw Eren glancing at the logo on their uniforms, raising a brow. "What's wrong?"

Eren blinked before shaking his head, "Nah, just thought about my old man."

Mikasa glanced down at the same logo. "He should be fine in Tokyo. I hear they're having more talks about pushing the Jaeger program further. Have you heard from him?"

Eren huffed, "Not for months." He glared down at the floor, before looking sideways at Mikasa. "Just because he helped establish the program and they name it after him means that he gets to flitter around as much as he wants."

Mikasa shrugged. "As long as the tech he's working on protects us both."

Eren took the helmet that was offered to him by a technician, "I guess so."

Mikasa nodded, placing her pilot helmet on.

Both began making their way into their positions in the GIPSY DANGER.

Eren slowly made his way to the right side of the Jaeger. Since he and Mikasa had been fighting Kaijus, Mikasa was always placed on the left and he on the right.

He smirked at the thought; Mikasa was always the more logical one of the two, and it seemed to match up with the left side of their Jaeger's 'brain'. Eren had always been more impulsive, even when the two of them had been kids. So he was always taking the right side.

Both settled into their positions, waiting for the word from up on deck.

Their communications crackled before a familiar voice came on, "Hey guys, how's it going on this bright sunshiny day?"

Eren's face broke into a smile, "Hey Connie, what's up? How'd the date go last night?"

"Did you forget to pay?" Mikasa asked stoically, receiving a sputter from Connie.

"I did not forget! The girl seemed to like me. Her boyfriend on the other hand…not really."

Eren laughed as Mikasa gave him a sidelong glance, "I bet you got your ass kicked."

"I did not! But a guy's gotta do what a guy's gotta do. So now I've got a date with Sasha next week."

"Take her to a nice restaurant." Mikasa replied.

"Well, thanks for the advice, Mikasa! I know Sasha's a good friend of yours, so-"

"And a cheap one, too." Mikasa added, "That girl could eat us out of a job."

"Hey! Don't be dissin' my lady!"

"Your lady last night seems to have dissed you." Eren replied with a smirk, pushing some buttons while Mikasa checked her wiring.

"Eren!"

"If you're through, Connie, I'd like to engage the drop."

Connie almost choked on his coffee when he realized who was standing next to him. "S-Sir, yes sir!" He clicked a button on his panel, "Marshal Erwin on deck!"

"Good morning, sir." Mikasa greeted.

Erwin nodded before looking down at Connie. "Engage."

"Yes, sir! Are you guys ready?"

"Yes." Mikasa replied.

"Eren?"

"Yeah, ready to go!" Eren replied, starting to get pumped up at the prospect.

"Then I'm engaging the drop!" Connie replied, pressing a few buttons.

Slowly, GIPSY DANGER'S head descended to attach itself to the main body. Both Mikasa and Eren felt a jolt before it locked into place.

"All set, sir." They replied.

"Engage pilot-to-pilot protocol, Connie." Erwin directed.

"Engaging now."

With a push, GIPSY DANGER embraced the freezing ocean waves off Anchorage, its lights piercing the darkness before Eren and Mikasa.

"I'm engaging neural drift now, guys!"

"All right, Connie!" Eren replied, turning to look at Mikasa. "You ready for this?"

"As ready as I've been the last hundred times."

_Engaging neural drift…in 3…2…1…_

Both felt a jolt before their minds entered the drift.

Memories passed through Eren's mind: he saw his childhood with his parents, his interactions with Mikasa and his other friend Armin; everything flowed through like water in a stream. He'd been doing this long enough to know not to 'chase the rabbit'.

Then came Mikasa's memories, which at time were a mirror image of his own. He saw her parents, her taekwondo training, her cat Nikita. All this happened in an instant, and suddenly both Jaeger pilots could breathe clearly and see the path ahead of them.

Testing the link out, they extended their arms together, nodding when the Jaeger did exactly what they had done.

Eren smirked, blue eyes flashing, "Let's do this."

"Your mission is to keep the miracle mile off Anchorage," Erwin's voice commanded through communications, "I don't want to see any Kaiju's approaching shore."

"Yes sir." Mikasa affirmed, analyzing the territory in front of them for the approaching Kaiju. So far, the only view both her and Eren saw were the continuous crashing of icy waves around them.

"I don't see anything…" Eren murmured, Mikasa nodding in agreement. Slowly, they piloted the Jaeger forward, its lights glinting across the surface of the murky ocean water.

Suddenly, Mikasa saw a glint from underneath the waves, "Target approaching!"

Without much warning an enormous Kaiju broke through the waves in front of them, rearing its large head with a soul-piercing shriek.

Connie flinched from the high pitch, while Marshal Erwin stood firm.

Eren's eyes were ablaze, "There you are."

Turning to Mikasa, his gaze caught hers. They both nodded, turning to face the enormous category two.

The Kaiju appraised the smaller Jaeger with fierce eyes, before letting out another shriek. It barreled forward, and GIPSY DANGER managed to dodge it in the nick of time.

"It's fast!" Mikasa shouted, the Jaeger turning around briefly as the Kaiju righted itself for another attack.

Eren scoffed, "Not gonna be fast enough for us!"

The Jaeger moved forward, delivering a heavy blow right to the side of the Kaiju's face. It reared back in pain, before pushing forward to hit another blow on the Jaeger.

This jolted both Mikasa and Eren, and pushed the air out of their lungs.

"Shit!"

"Mikasa, you okay?!"

"Yes, I'm fine!"

They both maneuvered the Jaeger into the water, giving it enough thrust to propel the machine out. It soared over the Kaiju, and Mikasa and Eren put the Jaeger's hands together into one large fist. Their blow landed squarely on the top of the Kaiju's head, pushing its body into the waves below.

"Yeah!" Eren exclaimed, earning a small smile from Mikasa.

The waves had quieted momentarily.

Eren turned to smile at Mikasa, before both of them were unexpectedly thrown down.

The Kaiju had just propelled itself from under the water to come out and latch its powerful jaws onto the neck of the Jaeger. While it had a large gash on the side of its head, it was determined to take the machine down with it.

Eren could see the Kaiju's eyes from where it latched onto the neck of the Jaeger on his side.

Mikasa's eyes widened in shock, her wiring having come loose from such a jolt.

The Kaiju briefly let go, climbing farther up the Jaeger's body. The damage it had caused had circuits shortening and water leaking into the head. Its teeth, it seemed, where sharper than the technicians and engineers had supposed. It was tearing the GIPSY DANGER to bits.

"Eren, move!" Mikasa screamed.

Eren had collapsed near the edge of his side, trying to right himself up under a pile of debris, "I'm trying!" he yelled back, his eyes wide with anxiety as he grappled with some wires. His legs had been injured in the attack, and it was hard for him to stand.

It wasn't fast enough. Mikasa's wide eyes took in the form of the approaching Kaiju, it's mouth open. Fatally sharp teeth gleamed from its enormous head, and it let out a resounding cry.

Eren felt his heart drop.

Time seemed to slow, and Mikasa moved forward without a second thought.

Eren watched as Mikasa detached herself from her stand, before leaping to his side of the Jaeger.

"What are you doing?!" He screamed, just as the Kaiju tore into his side of the Jaeger's head.

Mikasa moved with the speed of a demon, pulling the debris off of Eren before pushing him out of the way of the incoming teeth.

And slowly, with a mortified expression, Eren watched helplessly as his best friend disappeared into nothingness. Whether into the ocean or into the Kaiju's mouth he did not know, only that Mikasa was gone.

"Neural drift has been disconnected!" Connie yelled, pushing buttons rapidly as Marshal Erwin frowned deeply.

"Eren!" he yelled into the microphone, but there was no answer.

The Kaiju had left a gaping hole on the side of the Jaeger's head. It fell back into the water to preserve its energy.

"Eren, EREN!" Connie shouted over the communications, but Eren couldn't hear him.

All he could see was Mikasa's expression. How she faded into the darkness. How he had felt her fear, her anxiety for his safety, and then the sudden cold cut off of the neural disconnection.

Hate began to boil in his veins.

That Kaiju had killed his best friend.

"I'll kill you…" he murmured, eyes blazing at the category two, "I'LL KILL YOU!"

Still connected to the Jaeger, he managed to control one arm. It careened into the side of the Kaiju's head, but Eren didn't stop there. With one active arm, he continued to beat the Kaiju until what remained of it was a floating dead carcass in a sea of Kaiju blue.

Eren's fury was the only thing that propelled him further. If you asked him what had happened after witnessing Mikasa's death, he wouldn't be able to tell you.

He wouldn't remember defeating the Kaiju, or slowly making his way back to the shore. All he knew was that when he woke up three days later in a hospital, was that his life had changed now that Mikasa was gone.

It was over.


	2. Peddling to Meddling

Chapter 2: Peddling to Meddling

* * *

The ringing of his front door shook him out of his reverie.

Cussing lowly, Levi sighed as he raked a hand through his unkempt hair. It was too early for this bullshit. He gazed out of his kitchen window to the city with a perturbed look, before getting up from his chair.

"If it's Dent right now with the delivery…" he murmured, approaching his door with a yawn, "I'll fucking exile him."

He huffed, standing up slightly on his toes to see through the porthole. The sight that greeted him surprised him.

Slowly, he unlocked the door and opened it. "My, my. What's Marshal Erwin doing here?" he asked with an eyebrow raised.

Marshal Erwin looked down at Levi, glancing at his less than professional attire. "Have I arrived at a bad time?"

Levi shrugged and opened the door wider. "You might as well come in now."

Erwin entered Levi's small apartment and looked around, "Huh. Pristine as always."

"I'm not having any Kaiju blue shit staining my house." Levi replied, narrowing his eyes at the idea of how messy Kaiju parts were, "disgusting."

They both made their way into the kitchen, Erwin behind Levi's trailing blue robe.

"Coffee?" Levi asked monotonously as Erwin sat down at his small kitchen table.

Erwin nodded, "Black."

Both stayed silent as the sound of the working coffee maker permeated the small apartment.

"How have you been?" Erwin finally asked as Levi put two coffee cups on the table. Steam rose as he poured Marshal Erwin's cup first.

"The same as always." Levi retorted sardonically, sitting down across from the Marshal, "Getting through hell by selling off shitty Kaiju flesh."

Erwin sighed, "I see you're well humored as always."

"Tch." Levi scoffed, narrowing his eyes at the Marshal. "Anyway, why are you here? I hear you've been pretty busy trying to keep up the remaining pieces of that Jaeger program of yours." Levi bit back, taking a sip of his coffee.

Erwin's eyes narrowed, but then he gazed down at the cup between his hands, "Actually, that's why I'm here today."

"Oh?" Levi asked, sounding not surprised at all.

"You are one of the only people who know the most about the Kaiju. It would be a great help to us if you would join the team."

"You mean the _resistance_, at this point." Levi replied, gazing levelly at the marshal, "I know you. This is your last stand against the breach. It's not going to be a fucking ride in the park. How many Jaegers do you even have left?"

"We managed to get a few. Cherno Alpha, Crimson Typhoon, Striker Eureka, Gipsy Danger, and Astraea Swift."

Levi tapped his fingers, almost in an amused way, "Five Jaegers. Against a whole array of Kaijus. Why don't you just hand feed the pilots to those monsters?"

"Levi-"

"No, you know that's ridiculous. Not without any strategy to fucking back you up."

"But this is why we need people like you, Levi." Erwin replied sternly, "The resistance can only do so much if we don't have the proper knowledge or prowess that you have of the enemy."

"You won't even let me pilot a Jaeger, even though you know how damn well I could do. You sure you want me to be near them?" Levi asked blankly.

"You know why I can't let you pilot a Jaeger. Let's not get into it again." Erwin firmly responded, although his eyes told a different story, "But your other skills would be beneficial. You can still keep your current job, if you would rather have it that way."

"Heh. Yeah. Peddling illegal goods."

Erwin folded his arms on the table, leaving his coffee to cool. "You'd have two other scientists with you, Hanji and Armin. The newest recruits are also promising: Vanith Jericho and Anya Helenium. Have you heard of them?"

Levi raised an eyebrow, "Sure, they've been defending the Japanese coast for several years in the Astraea Swift."

"And doing a fine job of it, too." Erwin responded, "They're good people, you might like them. Anya's a ray of sunshine compared to you. Who knows, maybe some of her personality can rub off on you."

Levi frowned and scoffed, before taking another sip.

Erwin sighed before draining his cup, "Your assistance might be a good way to make sure that the members of our group won't suffer the same way as others have before..."

At the implication, Levi's face darkened before he looked down at the table, "Leave it to you to say those kinds of things to get your way."

Erwin raised a brow, "Am I 'getting my way'?"

Levi scoffed at the table, taking another sip. There was a deep pause, and Erwin knew it was important. Levi was seriously considering his offer.

Another moment passed before Levi cursed again. "Fine, I'll take the damn offer."

"I am pleased to hear you say that." Erwin replied with a polite smile. He got up from the table, nodding to his empty cup, "Thank you for the coffee."

Levi waved his hand nonchalantly as Erwin turned towards the door.

"You'll be briefed when you arrive at the shatter dome," Erwin filled in, "I just have one more place to go before I come back to Hong Kong."

"Another shitty brat to recruit to your lost cause?" Levi asked, swirling the leftover coffee in his cup.

Erwin smiled slightly as he opened the door to leave, "Something like that."


	3. A Sweet Deal

Usual Disclaimer: I only own my own OC, Anya Helenium. Vanith Jericho is owned by my friend.

Chapter 3: A Sweet Deal

* * *

Eren sighed, wiping the sweat off his brow. Glancing down from his position, he surveyed all of his fellow workers carrying on.

Well, the wall wasn't going to build itself.

Dubbed "Wall Maria" by the project designers, it had been slowly overcoming the favor of the Jaeger program for the past several years. From what Eren knew, the program was pretty much dead. Everyone thought that this project- this _Wall Maria_\- would solve all of their Kaiju problems.

He could only hope so, but he had to admit he had his own doubts.

It had been five years…and yet…

He shut his eyes tight, trying to put down the pain. Images of his best friend flashed before his eyes.

"Fuck." He murmured, opening them again to continue drilling.

* * *

"Hey Jaeger, you've got a visitor. Take ten." The supervisor shouted, pointing the disheveled worker towards a less crowded area. With a raised eyebrow, Eren followed the direction that his supervisor had pointed, only to realize who was waiting for him.

"Marshal, sir."

Marshal Erwin smiled politely, his hands clasped behind his back, "Mr. Jaeger."

Eren stopped a few feet from the Marshal and his men, wiping the back of his hand over his mouth, "Looking sharp Marshal." He smirked, taking in Erwin's pristine navy long coat and clean-cut appearance.

Erwin smile turned into a smirk, "It's been a long time. Might I have a word?"

Eren shrugged, "Be my guest."

"It took us a while to find you." Erwin continued, surveying Eren's less than neat appearance, "You seem to be travelling more these days."

"I chase shifts to make a living, sir." Eren replied bitterly, "You know, every since my old man decided to spend all his hard-earned money and leave us all in the dirt when the Jaeger program went down."

"Well that's just the thing, Eren." Erwin replied, looking around the area, "It's not down quite yet."

Eren raised a brow in question, "Pardon, sir?"

Erwin sighed, pulling at his sleeves. "I've spent the last few months setting up a crew, and getting my hands on anything I could."

Eren remained silent, but his turquoise eyes burned.

Erwin smiled halfheartedly, "There's an old Jaeger you may know of that just might like to be piloted by you again. You are my first choice after all."

"Oh, am I?" Eren asked sarcastically, glaring.

"Yes. You're the only one still alive."

Eren scoffed, before looking down at his hands. He saw the dirt, the cuts and the bruises from working on Wall Maria. Then he thought of Mikasa.

"I can't," he murmured, clenching his fists.

Erwin looked at him questioningly.

"I can't have anyone else in my head again, Marshal." Eren replied loud enough for him to hear, "I was still connected to Mikasa when she died." His breathing was shaky as he remembered, "I can't go through that. Not again."

There was a pause. Then Erwin sighed.

"Then I guess you'll never get to avenge her, seeing as the world is coming to an end."

Eren blinked, before his eyes widened, "What?"

"Hmmm? Oh," Erwin replied, raising his brows, "I thought you would like to know. But anyway, it comes down to this."

Erwin's disinterested look was replaced by a fierce expression, "Where would you rather die, Eren Jaeger? Here, in this shithole?" His voice rang out, temporarily over the volume of the small television broadcasting nearby.

Eren stood still from shock.

"Or in a Jaeger, with honor, like Mikasa?" Erwin finished, his blue eyes piercing into Eren's turquoise.

Their conversation was interrupted when a frantic reporter appeared on screen, "It appears that a Kaiju broke through Australia's Wall Rose in under an hour!" The reporter stated.

Eren turned to look at the screen. Pictured was a massive Kaiju breaking through the ocean wall of Rose, nearly decimating Darling Harbor.

"It was the recently decommissioned Jaeger Striker Eureka, piloted by Jean Kirstein and Marco Bott, that finally took the beast down." The reporter added.

Erwin hummed in approval.

The screen zoomed in on the famous Striker Eureka giving the finishing blow to a nasty looking Kaiju, before zipping back to an interview with the two pilots. Eren and the Marshal watched the two figures silently.

The second one, Marco, seemed okay, but there was something about Jean that Eren just didn't like.

"Look, they decommissioned the Jaeger program because of mediocre pilots. It's that simple."

Oh yeah. That's why.

The Marshal glanced sideways at Eren, taking in the furious crease of his brows.

"Well, Jaeger? Are you sure of your decision?"

Eren turned abruptly to the Marshal, the light in his eyes burning bright with determination.

"I've changed my mind, Marshal. Sign me up. I'll kill them all. All the Kaijus!"

* * *

"Viiinnnnyyyyyyy. Hey Vinnnnyyyyyy. Oi, Vinny, up and at 'em." A voice rang out.

"Huh?" Vanith murmured from under his pillow, just as someone began poking him in the shoulder.

"Rise and shine, Vinny. The earth says hello!"

Vanith sighed, pulling the pillow off of his head and running his hand through his small afro, "What time is it, Anya?"

The perky girl standing next to his bunk bed smiled, "5:30. I thought I'd get you up early, since we're expecting fresh meat today."

Vanith groaned, but got up nonetheless. Rubbing the back of his neck, he took in his co-pilot drowsily. "Wait…" his eyes widened, before he pointed a finger accusingly at the brunette, "How the hell did you even get in here?! I locked the door!"

Anya grinned, before shaking her head. Her long hair swayed from side to side, "Nope, sorry, war secret, can't tell. But seriously, you need a better lock."

Vanith groaned, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, "I guess I can't say anything else."

"Oh, but _I_ can!" Anya replied, walking towards the door, "Guess who made waffles?!"

"You did?" Vanith asked questioningly.

"Nope! Cafeteria did, so get ready before they're all gone!" Anya replied, before turning and closing the door with a small slam, "I'll be waiting out here for ya!"

Vanith waved her off, "Yeah, yeah."

* * *

With Vanith Jericho at his full height of 6'1, Anya seemed like a midget at 5'2. Both walked down the hall together towards the main entrance, Vanith with his hands in his suit pockets.

"Huh, seems like another rainy day." Vanith stated, watching from inside as people ran back and forth in the shower.

Anya hummed in agreement, looking out for anyone she knew.

"Looking for the 'fresh meat'?" Vanith asked amusedly, raising an eyebrow.

Anya nodded, a small grin coming to her face, "Erwin said it was a doozy."

"No he did not!" Vanith replied, teasing.

Anya grinned back, "Well, not in those _exact_ words."

They were interrupted by the hum of an approaching chopper.

"That's it!" Vanith exclaimed, a grin appearing on his face.

Anya smiled in anticipation, before ushering both of them out into the rain with an umbrella, "Let's go great this mysterious Mr. Jaeger!"


End file.
